It was a game that was more reminiscent of a 1980s WAC shootout instead of a blood-and-guts battle between two of college football's preeminent programs. Somewhere, Bear Bryant and Bud Wilkinson had to be lamenting what their beloved sport has become.

Clinging to the past may be part of why third-ranked Alabama was upset by 11th-ranked Oklahoma despite being a 16-point favorite. Bowl games don’t always reflect the true picture of teams so you have to be careful to read too much into it.

But the thread that ran through Alabama (11-2) this season was its struggle to stop fast-paced offenses that featured good quarterbacks. The Tide was 1-2 in those games, losing to Oklahoma and Auburn. They gave up 628 yards to Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel in a 49-42 victory but were lucky enough to play an Aggies’ defense that would be hard-pressed to stop a good high school offense.

Nick Saban was a bit arrogant in his assessment of his team’s loss, saying everyone gives Alabama their best shot and his squad didn’t understand that concept down the stretch of the 2013 season.

“I just don’t think that our players realized sometimes that they won so much that they realize sometimes what it really takes to win every game and that you can never take anything for granted,’’ Saban said after the game. “Everyone that plays us has something to prove. And they (players) have to change the way they think and that’s difficult to do.’’

There is certainly some truth in the statement because Alabama has become the preeminent program in the nation. There is no question that a big target is on the program’s collective back because of what it has accomplished in the last few years. And Thursday’s loss was compounded by the Tide’s four turnovers, which Oklahoma turned into four touchdowns.

But it’s also evident that Bama’s defense doesn’t seem as suited to stop the high-speed no-huddle offenses that seem to be taking college football by storm. The Tide looked confused on defense many times in Thursday’s game and couldn’t get in personnel groupings that would have been to its advantage.

Oklahoma redshirt freshman quarterback Trevor Knight was outstanding in the victory, throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns to win the game’s most valuable player award. But Knight was making only his fifth career start, had thrown for but 471 yards in seven games played this season and struggled at times during the regular season.

This, as much as Alabama’s mindset, should concern Saban in the offseason.

Oklahoma, on the other hand, seems to be trending in the right direction. The Sooners have struggled the last few years since playing and losing the national championship against Florida in 2009.

Last year’s embarrassing loss to Texas A&M, 41-13, in the Cotton Bowl had some wondering if the Sooners’ program had lost its edge under Bob Stoops. Losses to Texas and Baylor furthered the argument that the talent didn’t seem to be that of an elite program.

But Oklahoma has been restocking the shelf with smaller, quicker players the last couple of years to adapt to the changing schematics of college football. The Sooners were young this season and had a lot of injuries, at one time down six starters.

“From time to time, in different years, the more inexperience you have, the more injuries you have, you’re going to have some ups and downs,’’ Stoops said after the game. “I thought these guys managed the injuries, the inexperience early in the year, the injuries throughout the year, in a really positive way. And I can say it now when you’re on the positive side of it (after a victory). You can’t bring it up when you’re not.’’

Stoops said beating Alabama was a big step toward rebuilding the program. He criticized what he perceived as the overly hyped SEC during the summer and was taken to task about it.

He side-stepped the question Thursday night but did so with a smirk and an “I told you so,’’ look on his face.

Oklahoma more than likely will end up in the top 10 in the final rankings as will the Tide despite the loss.

But Oklahoma will find the offseason more palatable than the Tide thanks to Thursday. And the Sooners seem to have less work to do than their Sugar Bowl counterparts.